Blessings on Carousell

While most use Carousell to buy and sell, it is also a platform for sharing and giving. This Chinese New Year, we wanted to explore how our community could play a bigger, more active role in the wider society.

Project CARE to bring the Carousell spirit to people who fall between the gaps in our ageing society. As our society ages, many of the silver generation often end up living on their own. In their advanced age, they are not as capable of taking care of themselves as they once were.

It’s especially important to reach out to this group of socially vulnerable, often isolated group, and connect with them, after all as John Donne famously wrote “No man is an island”.

Meet Uncle Wong

We were introduced to 85-year-old Uncle Wong, who lives alone. A quiet, soft spoken man, he spends most of his days watching TV at home or simply lounging around the neighbourhood coffee shops. An ideal life for some perhaps, but living alone for so long isn’t a healthy way of living.

After talking to him for a bit, (we found that his roommate passed away several years ago), Uncle Wong eventually invited us into his home.

When we entered Uncle Wong’s house, one of the first things we noticed were that his furniture, bed and appliances were worn-out and needed a change.

Coming together as a community

To spruce up his home for Chinese New Year, we reached out to our Carousell community in search of items and services he might want or need. Watch the full video here

We were very heartened to see our Carousellers respond to our appeal for help in one way or another! Wanting to liven up Uncle Wong’s home without adding or changing too much of the facade, we felt that a fresh coat of paint could be the best way to do it.

We chanced upon @24owl’s painting services and asked if he would be willing to help us out. When he heard about our cause, he immediately offered his painting service at a subsidised rate. (Although in the end, Uncle Wong opted not to have his walls repainted. “太麻烦”, he said as he didn’t want to trouble so many people over his simple lifestyle)

What’s CNY without a few red and auspicious decor pieces? We turned to Carousellers and found cute customisable decorations, as well as some second hand pieces. @pawidentity even went the extra mile to customise a Year of the Dog door sign with Uncle Wong’s surname and donated it to him!

Customised by Angeline, owner of <pawidentity>

It’s a great reminder that buying and selling is not just a transactional process, and how technology can connect us to create meaningful experiences.

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ABOUT US

Carousell is a mobile classifieds app that makes selling as easy as taking a photo, buying as simple as chatting. We believe that changing the way we consume things can make life more meaningful, and the world a better place.